PSD/Lagoa accuses the Chamber of “incompetence” due to the stopped work on the Ferragudo auto silo

The stoppage of work on the Ferragudo auto silo since June 2022 is «another symbol of the ineffectiveness and incompetence of the executive [municipal] led by the socialist majority» accused the PSD/Lagoa, after a visit to the site.

The social democrats from Lagos, after a visit dedicated to the issue of parking, recalled, in a press release, that the works on the Silo Auto de Ferragudo were “started in September 2021 in the middle of the municipal electoral campaign”, but ended up stopping in June of the following year.

Criticizing the «glaring lack of realistic projects to solve the effective problem of parking in Vila de Ferragudo», on the part of the Lagoa City Council, the PSD added that the situation was «aggravated by the total fiasco that the construction of the Silo turned into. Auto de Ferragudo to solve the parking problem in the village».

It is, they accused, a «poorly planned and designed work that resulted in its suspension after 10 months and subsequent termination of the construction contract», meaning that, «at this moment, the work remains stopped with no forecast of completion and already with approximately half a million euros spent».

The “only result”, added the social democrats, is “the absence of solutions for parking in Ferragudo” and the “no less serious opening of a crater in the town’s urban landscape”.

O South Information contacted Luís Encarnação, president of Lagoa City Council, to find out the reason for the stoppage of the work, which has been ongoing for more than a year and a half.

The socialist mayor said that, «during the work, places appeared, a type of caves or underground caves, which were not foreseen, nor were they known by the author of the project», the architect Luís Veríssimo, former president of the Ferragudo Parish Council, well-known figure from PS Lagoense.

This forced the work to stop and «redo the project, which would give rise to more, less and additional work», making it therefore necessary to negotiate with the contractor who had initiated the intervention.

«Unfortunately, it was not possible to reach an agreement with the contractor, after many months of negotiations», so, «by mutual agreement», that contract was terminated.

Luís Encarnação added that it is now necessary to «launch a new procedure», which is only possible after the approval of the «budget review» that took place on March 21st. The objective of the Lagoa Chamber is to move forward with a new public tender « still this year”.

The auto silo will be located next to ACD Ferragudo and the Health Center, not being developed in height, but taking advantage of the slope of the hillside. It will be a building with three floors, staggered along the hillside, which initially provided for 200 parking spaces, covered and uncovered, and also space for taxis and the bus terminal.

Luís Encarnação, in his statements to the South Informationadmitted that, with the changes that had to be made to the project, «the work became more expensive», «around 40% more of the initial value».

But it was also, in his opinion, “more efficient”, since the changes allowed “the number of parking spaces to be increased”.

One thing is certain: it will not be this summer, nor probably in 2025, that Ferragudo will have a parking silo, which will allow cars and even part of the traffic to be removed from the always congested riverside area of the town.

The ambitious project for the reformulation of this area of Ferragudo, presented in February 2018 by the then mayor of Lagoa Francisco Martins to the South Information.

Evaluating the project to requalify the public space in Ferragudo «between 7 and 8 million euros», the objective would be to create a large entrance room de Ferragudo, completely aimed at those walking, and turning the current canal into a permanent water mirror, on whose verdant banks you can stand.

Six years ago, the then socialist mayor estimated that this project would be “built, in phases, over the next three years”. However, the Lagoa Chamber has not yet obtained funding for this major intervention.

The project, assured the current mayor Luís Encarnação, in his statements to our newspaper, «continues to live in Silva»… but depends on the construction of the auto silo.

«It is a project that can only move forward when there is an alternative to traffic and parking» in downtown Ferragudo, which will only happen when the new infrastructure is ready and functioning.

In any case, Luís Encarnação highlights that the deep intervention in the Largo Rainha D. Leonor area, wall, stream and entrance street, will have to be done «in phases, because of the amount of investment» and also due to the inconveniences that the works will cause.

The visit of the Lagoa PSD Political Committee to Ferragudo is part of its «Sentir Lagoa» initiative. Previously, the Social Democrats had already visited Angrinha beach and the degraded fishing facilities there, as well as the town’s downtown.

This time, the social-democratic delegation was made up of Mário Vieira, president of the Council and councilor of the City Council, as well as Luís Tito, vice-president of the Council, Joaquim Cabrita, municipal deputy, and also by Cesário Belém and Nuno Baselli, respectively secretary and member of the Council.

PSD/Lagoa visit to the auto silo